Dirty Little Secret
by GeminiStarGrl16
Summary: What if Viola's nighttime bicep gropes didn't go so unnoticed by a sleeping Duke? An AU story based on a comment made during the deleted dance scene.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: What if Viola's nighttime bicep gropes didn't go so unnoticed by a sleeping Duke?**

**A/N: Right. So, basically an AU storyline inspired by Viola's comment during the deleted dance scene. This is the first She's the Man fic that I've finished and I have more in the works. It's also the longest thing I've written that's actually finished and posted so I'm feeling very accomplished at the moment. There's also a mention of a comment made during the commentary, way towards the end of the credits. Kudos to you if you find it.**

**Word Count: 3691**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize obviously does not belong to me, including the following lyric snippets.**

"_If you knew how many nights_

_I've been sitting by your bed_

_Running fingers through your hair_

_While you're asleep"_

_**-Around the Corner of Your Eye, ATeens**_

"_I'll keep you my dirty little secret_

_Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_

_My dirty little secret_

_Who has to know?"_

_**-Dirty Little Secret, The All-American Rejects**_

Once again she found herself awake at ungodly hours of the night. The clock next to her bed currently read 3:22 AM. It was amazing really that with the amount of energy she was putting into soccer she could actually have enough left to be awake and semi-functioning at this time of night. But it seemed that no matter if she was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as her wigged head hit the pillow, she would find herself wide awake in the middle of the night.

Usually she would spend at least half an hour attempting to bury her head under the pillow and fall back into dream world. It always failed and she resigned herself to ridding herself of the stench that seemed to follow her in the world of boy and enjoyed a leisurely shower in the privacy of the middle of the night.

Of course she knew on some level why she was rendered to this irritating state. She just didn't want to admit it to herself. But as she sat curled up at the head of her bed, the thoughts she worked so hard during the day to ignore and push to the back of her mind came screaming through her head. It didn't help that she lived with the constant reminder himself.

Ever since their kiss and the subsequent heart to heart, sleeping through the night was her new archenemy. He had no idea, of course, what happened in his room at night. He had no idea that his roommate was actually not a boy, but in fact one very frustrated and troubled girl. He also had no idea that said girl was at the moment fighting a very strong urge to feel up his very appealing bicep that was attached to his very uncovered, naked chest, which was a feature she wouldn't let herself think about, even in the middle of the night, because that in turn would lead to other thoughts that while in normal circumstances would not be unwelcome, her current situation left them potentially problematic.

The urge, however, won over rational thought in the end and before said rational thought could return she had crossed the room and her fingertips were going where they chose. Her touch was light but apparently the sensations she was causing were enough to disturb the sleeping form in front of her. When he started to flinch, some form of reality must have entered her mind, because she had the sense to pull her hand away and crouch down so she wasn't as visible.

But in the process of this move, some of the water from her wet hair must have dripped on him, because his eyelids were starting to flutter to that in-between state of sleep and consciousness. She froze instantly when he slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

How long that look lasted she had no idea as no thoughts were actually registering in her mind at that point. It wasn't until he gave her a lazy, goofy smile that she reacted in some way. She only managed blinking, but still it was something.

She was so distracted she never even registered the smile that crossed his face and his hand reaching out into her hair and pulling her toward him. It wasn't until he began running his tongue along her bottom lip, looking for a reaction that she even realized something was going on. She responded in turn, letting her eyes close and her hands to creep over his shoulders and across his neck up into his hair. Their position was awkward but she barely registered it as the feelings and sensations their kissing were creating were enough to knock her to her knees.

But the cramps in her legs were becoming an issue and she promptly climbed into the bed with him, almost on top of him. How long they continued their little make-out session she wasn't sure, but eventually the dream ended and they both fell asleep, curled up together.

The alarm the next morning was blaring as Duke slowly blinked open his eyes. He had been having some very lurid, and what seemed like very real, dreams about his roommate's sister and he was sad to see them end. That wasn't the only reason the alarm seemed more irritating this morning and it wasn't until he looked at his roommate's bed that he realized why. Sebastian usually got to the offending electronic before he did and Sebastian was currently not in his bed.

The alarm was still blaring and he tried to rollover to turn it off, but was met with resistance. He was confused and if his mind wasn't still hazy with sleep he probably would have registered the unfamiliar weight next to him with two strategically placed arms around his waist or the fact that he had to untangle his own arms from around the weight.

As it were, he was not completely clearheaded and it took him more moments than were necessary to realize that this weight and those arms belonged to a girl. A girl wearing his roommate's pajamas. A girl named Viola, who was slowly opening her eyes and stretching lazily, like a cat after a mid-afternoon nap. She obviously hadn't realized the situation yet. A slow smile crossed his lips as he looked down at her form. She really was quite beautiful, all tussled and half-asleep. But then the reality of the situation hit him like a metal bat to the head and his smile quickly turned to one of fear.

He wanted to run, to bolt out of the room and out of the situation all together. But as every muscle in his body had gone catatonic and the possibility of him getting away with it were slim to none, he ended up staying put, however, not without his signature terrified expression.

She woke up more rested than usual and with a strong feeling of contentment. She wasn't quite sure of the cause or why there was some blaring noise interrupting her wake-up time. She stretched and then attempted to bury herself farther into her pillow, however that was becoming increasingly difficult, as it wasn't scrunching up into a ball like it was supposed to. Come to think of it, it wasn't entirely that soft either and it was moving…was that a heartbeat?

That was perhaps the first inkling that she was perhaps not alone in the bed. And when she finally looked up into Duke's terrified and pale face, everything from the night before came rushing back, full and detailed. She sat bolt upright, untangling herself from him and her face took on an equally flushed look, though her terrified expression had nothing to do with the fact that she was in some guy's bed.

Her secret was out, or at least she thought it was. She couldn't bring herself to say anything and even if she could she knew no words would actually be uttered, more like syllables that sounded like she was being strangled.

Thankfully she wouldn't have to bring herself to that point, as Duke had beaten her to it.

He was moving his mouth and she thought words were escaping, but upon closer inspection she realized they were only syllables and what could very well be animal noises. In retrospect, it would seem funny, but the green tint that was gracing Duke's face caused it to lose all its humor.

He was visibly having difficulty with the situation. Not that it was really all that surprising to her, he was so shy with girls sometimes it was almost sad. Having one in his bed that he obviously didn't remember inviting there was probably enough to cause a heart attack.

"Ho…?Wha…?Hmm…Yea…Uh…What?" he finally managed.

She didn't quite know what to say, mostly because she didn't know what he was asking exactly, but really because she really had no idea where to start. They sat there in silence for what seemed like hours, but was probably, realistically, only a few minutes.

Viola couldn't stand the tension anymore and reached over and gave Duke a kiss. She meant it to be a chaste little peck, but as soon as their lips met, something else besides what would be considered rational thought took over and they gave in, deepening and prolonging the kiss. However, the kiss wasn't really solving anything and they eventually realized this when their brains began screaming for air.

When they finally parted Duke was the first to speak, "Okay, so I'm not dreaming."

"Afraid not," she replied, giving a little nod and a small smile.

"But, how did you get into my bed?" came the bewildered question.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" came the sheepish reply.

"Um…no?"

"You don't remember waking up and kissing me?"

"Wait…I still don't understand how you even got in here."

"I don't think you're going to like the answer to that."

"What do you mean? How could I not like anything about you?"

His questions made her heart ache. He was so wonderful and he didn't even know. He didn't even know how she was falling in love with him. The thought of the hurt that she was going to undoubtedly cause him was almost too much for her to handle and she had to look away from him.

"That's sweet but I really don't think you're going to like me much when you hear what I have to say."

"Well we won't know unless you tell me, Vi."

"Right well, as you've obviously noticed Sebastian is nowhere to be seen and the reason for that is because he's sitting right here in your bed."

Duke gave her a confused look, not really seeing where she was going with this. Because obviously Sebastian was a boy and the breasts on his bedfellow told him very clearly that she was not in fact a boy.

"I've been disguising myself as my brother for the past week and a half so that I could play on the boy's soccer team," she explained, finally chancing a glance at him with a sheepish smile on her face, hoping he wouldn't be too harsh on her.

He was staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was silent for a long time before he finally said in a disbelieving voice that sounded like it hadn't been used in a very long time, "What?"

"The girls' team at Cornwall got cut and the boys wouldn't let us try out for their team so when my brother decided to go to London for two weeks, I decided to disguise myself so I could make the boys' team here and beat Cornwall."

"Oh," he answered as if this were an everyday occurrence.

By this time Viola was beyond confused. She snapped her head up so fast to look at him she was surprised she wasn't suffering from whiplash. She expected him to be furious. She expected him to kick her out of the bed, the room, his life. She never expected cool, calm and collected Duke. She never expected him to understand. Her answer of, "What?" was very similar to his only moments ago.

"You're not mad that I lied to you? You're not going to kick me out and never speak to me again?"

He was silent for a minute before he responded to her interrogation. "I'm not saying I'm not mad, furious even that you lied to me, but I don't know Vi, it's like I'm actually happy that you're here. I don't know how to explain it without sounding too much like a girl."

She was still staring at him, not really believing the scene that was playing out between them. This was NOT the way he was supposed to react. Duke was a hothead, ruled by testosterone and the idea that he had to be the superior alpha-male. Apparently she made him into, as Coach Dinklage would say, a "Nancy boy."

"Vi?" he questioned as he reached a hand out and into her hair, essentially cupping her head in his hand.

She reached a hand up and mirrored his movement, as a single tear slid down her face. And then she promptly pulled him into a tight hug, never wanting to let go.

"I thought you were going to hate me and I was never going to see you again."

"I think you underestimate how attached I've become to my roommate in the past week and a half," he said, smiling into her hair.

She laughed and the vibrations ran thorough him causing his heart to jump. He really was in deep. He was falling in love with this girl and he barely knew anything about her.

They pulled back from the hug, though they were still quite close together. They leaned in for a tentative kiss. It was like the first kiss after that first date, just testing the waters, not doing anything too rash, as to scare the other away. They pulled apart, slowly opening their eyes to look at the other. They had the same dopey look in their eyes and after small smiles, they were attached at the lips once more.

They were both a bit more adventurous this time and as they had already done this once before they were quick to be spread out on the bed, Viola on top of Duke and hands wandering.

Viola was in heaven as her arms went to all the places she had longed to touch. Last night was nothing compared to what was happening now. She had been cautious then, not really understanding the situation. Now her hands were everywhere, exploring his shoulders, his arms, his chest. She wandered lower, her fingers lightly tracing the outline of his more than washboard stomach. She felt like she was drowning in this boy. No, make that man. Those were the abs of no boy. One man, thirty-two abs, it seemed like. She reached around running her hand over his hipbone and down the outline oh his pelvis that made that oh so scandalous V.

Duke groaned against her mouth and flipped them over so that he was now on top, somehow his lips never losing contact with her body, as they could now be found against her neck. And then he hoarsely whispered into her ear, "Hands, Viola. You're getting naughty."

"I hope you're not implying that you've been so PG yourself," she replied, as she looked up at him with a smirk, playing with the soft hair that made up her favorite trail.

And it was true. While Viola had been doing her exploring, Duke had been doing his own. His hands had moved from around her neck, down to her waist and finally slowly under the back of her pajama top and up her back. He had moved them down her sides, his fingertips just brushing the sides of her breasts, which had caused her to moan and arch against him, all without her even realizing it of course.

"I can't help it, you drive me to insanity."

"Well I hope that was a complement."

He answered her by leaning down and giving her a quick kiss before it could turn into something more. He wasn't stupid, he knew where they were headed if they continued down this path and he wasn't quite ready to play that game, at least not when anyone could walk in the door. It was that terrifying thought that made him realize he couldn't stay in this position much longer, his arms were starting to cramp up from holding himself off of Viola.

They were now on their sides, facing each other, closer than they probably should be, but they still weren't ready to let go completely. They stayed like that for a long time, getting lost in memorizing every aspect of the other's face, leaning in for a kiss every so often. It was during this time that the seriousness of their situation became apparent to both of them.

Everyone still thought Viola was a boy and until her brother got back from overseas, she still had to disguise herself. The only problem was how were they supposed to keep up the appearance of being roommates and BOYS when their relationship had obviously changed? Not to mention that they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. Subconsciously they must have seen that they could be pulled apart, because they were now hugging so tightly that air couldn't get between them

"What are we going to do?" Viola finally ventured, voicing the thoughts that were both thinking.

Duke sighed and then quickly rolled her over, his hands tickling her middle, while he said in the most devious voice he could muster, "Well, I'll just have to keep you my dirty little secret."

He made her giggle at his actions, but the prospect of those words and the underlying sexiness of them sent a backlash of shivers down her spine, but she swiftly gave him the kiss he deserved.

When they had both settled down, the seriousness air fell over both of them again, though it was slightly lighter.

"Seriously Duke, what are we going to do?"

He sighed again and she tensed slightly, weary of his earlier assault, but he only proceeded to talk, "Look Vi, I know enough about you, regardless if you're disguised as Sebastian or Viola, to know that soccer is the most important thing in your life and I can't ask you to give that up. So I think that you should keep being your brother, at least until the Cornwall game and then we can figure out what to do after that."

"You're really think we're gonna be able to handle that?"

"Probably not, but we're gonna have to try. Besides, it's only for a few more days."

"What about Olivia?" came the shy question.

"What about her?" came the weary answer.

"I thought you were in love with her or something."

"I thought I was too, but then I kissed this girl at a kissing booth and I just can't…seem…to stop…thinking...about…her," each of these words interrupted by a kiss to somewhere on her face, before the last one claimed her lips.

Viola smiled at this and laughed before she quipped, "You're such a girl sometimes."

Duke was visually appalled at this thought, his image of the alpha-male jock coming into question.

"Stop saying things like that. You're going to ruin my reputation."

She laughed again and said, "You forget I already know how sensitive you really are."

He groaned as he remembered their conversation after the carnival. She had remembered something about that conversation too.

"You never did answer my question you know."

He was back to kissing her neck again, "Hmm…what question was that?"

"Who would you rather see naked, Olivia? Or me?"

He stopped mid kiss as she asked this question and he slowly lifted his head to look at her.

"You're not serious," he said slowly, unbelief clouding his words.

"Dead."

"I would think that would be obvious by now, as you're the one in my bed."

"And then?"

He didn't answer her for a while and she was afraid he was going to say Olivia and ruin this whole moment, but just as she was going to say something else he surprised her.

"You."

It was so quiet she almost didn't hear.

"I told you, Vi. Ever since the moment I stopped kissing you, it's the only thing I think about. You did something to me."

She was speechless for a minute, not really believing what he was saying, but then thinking how could it not be true, when his voice held such warmth and conviction in it.

"Like I said, girl."

"Oh, shut up."

And he started to assault her with his fingers once again, making her squirm beneath him.

They ended up in a pile of limbs on the bed, both in the tail end of giggles.

It must have been then that Viola looked at the alarm clock beside the bed. It read 7:12 AM. They had been going on for over two hours, the alarm had gone off somewhere around five. She groaned when she saw it, realizing they were supposed to work out this morning.

"What's wrong?"

"We were supposed to be working on my soccer over two hours ago."

"I think we put our time to better use, wouldn't you say?"

"I suppose."

"Look, we still don't have to get up for at least another two hours. Why don't we go back to sleep? I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted after all this."

She thought about it for a minute, the possibility of a couple more hours of sleep in Duke's arms not really sounding all that bad. And she WAS tired. She hadn't been sleeping that much and this morning really had done a number on her.

She nodded and answered, "That actually sounds close to perfect. We don't have class until 11:30 and I haven't been sleeping much lately, but what about Andrew and Toby? They don't exactly knock."

"Right. Hang on."

He pulled himself away from her and got up to lock the door. He turned around and was walking back to the bed when he noticed the look on Viola's face.

"Enjoying the view?" he said with a smirk.

"Mmmm," was the answer he received, as Viola licked her lips and reached a hand out summoning him back to the bed.

He grabbed her hand and climbed back into the bed next to her. He reached over and set the alarm, so they wouldn't attract attention if they didn't show up for class. He pulled Viola close against him, her back to his chest, and wrapped an arm around her. His other hand tucked her hair behind her ear while he leaned down to give her temple a kiss.

"Sweet Dreams, Viola," he whispered.

"Night, Duke," she slurred, already half-asleep.

He smiled a content, dopey smile and snuggled down against her, slipping into his own dreams.

**A/N2: Well, what'd you think? There is the possibility of a second part to this detailing what happens after this: how they interact the next day, the possibility of people finding out, the Cornwall game, etc., but it depends on what you guys think, so let me know.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, so lots of things to say. I wanted to thank everyone for the reviews and if you didn't review, then reading the story. I was flattered by your responses and how much you all liked it. And because almost everyone demanded more, even the risk of death if I didn't continue, I had to oblige. No matter how long it took. Which brings me to the second thing. I wanted to get this done faster for you all but real life and school and minor bouts of writer's block prevented that. Hopefully the length makes up for it though.**

**Word Count: 6103**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

"_So let's close our eyes and we'll talk in the morning_

_When we're able to feel_

_The true weight of our words and why we're both here"_

_**-We'll Be OK, Bayside**_

"_I thought I could resist you_

_I thought I was strong_

_Somehow you were different from what I've known_

_I didn't see you coming_

_You took me by surprise and_

_You stole my heart before I could say no"_

_**-Speechless, The Veronicas**_

"_I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me_

_I still feel your touch in my dreams_

_Forgive me my weakness_

_But I don't know why_

_Without you it's hard to survive"_

_**-Everytime We Touch, Cascada**_

"_I love the way you undress now_

_Baby begin_

_Do your caress, honey, my heart's in a mess_

_I love your blue-eyed voice_

_Like Tiny Tim shines through"_

_**-How Do You Do, Cascada**_

The alarm was blaring again. It was quite unwelcome and both stirred at the noise. Duke reached behind him and hit the snooze button not looking to be reminded that he actually had to face the outside world today. He'd much rather stay right where he was, as the other occupant of the bed snuggled closer to him.

Viola groaned at the noise and the subsequent shifting of the bed, not wanting to leave the comfort of the arms around her and the lips that were now attached to her neck. She did however smile to herself, thinking that despite the offensive alarm clock, she liked waking up this way.

"Morning," came Duke's scratchy voice from next to her ear.

"Mmmm," replied Viola, as she turned in his arms to deliver a kiss, "Morning."

She snuggled back up against him, strategically placing her head in such a way that her lips were up against his neck. His only response was to tighten the hold his arms had on her and place a kiss on the top of her head.

They stayed like that without saying anything and almost drifting back to sleep until the alarm began screaming at them again. This time Viola leaned over Duke to turn the thing off.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but we have to get up before the guys start beating down the door."

He groaned at that thought and said, "I guess that means I'll have to make an appearance in the showers."

She considered this for a moment before she said, "On second thought, I think I'll keep you here all to myself," and she hugged him tighter, unwilling to let him out of the bed.

He chuckled at her words and attempted to pry himself out of her arms, no matter how much he'd rather take her suggestion and stay. Once again, the thought of Andrew and Toby finding out about this little situation was not high on his list of things to do this week. It took some time but he finally managed to free himself.

Viola lounged in his bed watching him with a very disturbing smile on her face as he grabbed a towel and the rest of his bathroom stuff. He turned to look at her before bursting out with, "Would you stop looking at me like that!? You're freaking me out."

She giggled at his clear lack of comfort with her ogling his almost unnatural body.

"I can't help it. Didn't anyone ever tell you how hot you are?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I believe it was you."

And with that statement he leaned down to kiss her before walking out the door, leaving her slightly stunned.

When she finally recovered from Duke's little outburst, she took the opportunity to get dressed. She was just putting the final touches on her eyebrows when Duke reentered the room, clad only in a towel. She just stared at him, any attempts at words pointless.

"Okay, you seriously need to stop doing that because…" he said before trailing off as he realized why she was looking at him as if David Beckham had just walked in the room, "Oh, um …sorry. I forgot."

But Viola had by this time regained her thoughts, not to mention her devilish grin as she descended upon him. She leaned up to give him a slow, lingering kiss as her hands caressed down his naked back to his towel covered ass which she gave a squeeze and a little smack before grabbing her bag and rushing out the door, leaving Duke in a familiar stunned state and the thought that wearing some form of clothes from now on might not be a bad idea.

Viola headed off to her English class and managed to make it there on autopilot while her mind was elsewhere. She welcomed the opportunity to sort through the events of the last twelve hours and the feelings she had tried to avoid. As the teacher droned on about some Shakespeare play or another, her mind indulged in the place she hadn't allowed it to go during daylight hours.

She really did like Duke, more than she probably should or even thought was possible after knowing someone not even two weeks. Her sparse amount of sleep the past few days had left her tired, but with some slightly vivid dreams that were obviously the result of what she was avoiding during her conscious hours. She dismissed them as soon as she awoke, not wanting to dwell on what they meant. But now, it was cliché, but her dreams were coming true. And it was amazing. Every time Duke kissed her or touched her or looked at her like he was right now, she felt it. (He had slipped into the class five minutes late, managing to not even draw the attention of their teacher.) She could feel his stare on the back of her neck and the mere thought of their secret made the hairs there stand on end. She couldn't describe the intensity of it all, it was actually quite scary, but wonderful at the same time. Her mind was so far off, consumed by these thoughts that it took Duke almost pulling her out of her seat for her to realize it was time for lunch.

Duke and Viola reached the cafeteria first and after grabbing their food from an ecstatic Principal Gold, they seated themselves next to each other at their usual table, pulling their chairs closer together. They were so deep in conversation discussing one thing or another, feet engaged in constant battle and hands in constant contact under the table, that they didn't even notice Toby and Andrew walking towards them until Andrew greeted them with a "Hey guys," before grabbing the vacant seat next to Duke. The various body parts under the table sprung apart, hitting various legs of both the table and chairs and the table shook as a result. Toby looked at Andrew to gain confirmation of what had just happened but he was already thoroughly engrossed in his food, not noticing either Toby's raised eyebrows or the loss of color in both Duke and Sebastian's faces. The rest of the meal went normally as the conversation quickly turned to soccer and the Cornwall game on Saturday.

They finished their lunch and then proceeded to walk to Biology together. They all took their seats and settled down for an hour of whatever their teacher decided to lecture about today.

Viola was trying to ignore the small looks that Duke was sending in her general direction every ten seconds, but in the darkened room it was hard not to keep the ridiculous smile off her face. As their teacher was going on about some picture of a micro-something or other on the overhead, Olivia was trying to engage her in small talk. She kept whispering something, but Viola was having a hard time understanding her. She couldn't tell if it was the lack of sleep combined with a darkened room and boring lecture, or the attempts to keep a straight face that was causing her to blank on the words coming out of Olivia's mouth.

Finally, Olivia got fed up with the blank stare she kept getting from her lab partner and decided a flick was in order. It seemed to get Sebastian's attention and he gave Olivia a weird look and whispered, "What?"

"I was trying to tell you something, but you weren't paying attention."

"Sorry," and she was, giving Olivia an apologetic look and a small smile. She didn't want to be on bad terms with Olivia; it would just make everything harder to deal with. "What were you saying?"

"I think you're right about Duke."

Well that certainly got her attention. "What?" she said, though probably a little too loudly, because their teacher was now singling them out for disrupting her lecture. They mumbled their apologies and after a few minutes began their conversation again, this time on paper, passing notes like it was seventh grade again.

'_What do you mean I was right?'_

'_He's cute. I was thinking of maybe asking him out.'_

'_WHAT? You can't do that.'_

'_Why? What's the problem?'_

'_I heard he's seeing someone.'_

'_No, he's not. I would have heard about it if he was.'_

But once again their communication was interrupted as the teacher grabbed the paper right out of Sebastian's hands. "That's enough Mr. Hastings, Miss Lennox. I'll see you in detention this afternoon."

"But I have practice. I can't miss it."

"I'm sorry Mr. Hastings, but if you don't sit down, you'll be paying a visit to Principal Gold."

That thought alone was terrifying and after a few last defiant glares at the teacher, Viola sat back down and didn't look up from her notebook until the bell rang. She didn't wait around for Duke or Olivia or anyone else and almost bolted out of the room, looking to get a handle what had just happened. Too much information in too little amount of time was causing a headache to quickly develop behind her eyelids.

She never even saw it coming. Before she could even process what had happened she was pulled out of the hall and pushed up against the door of what looked to be a janitor's closet and trapped by someone else. With the combination of the shock of being dragged out of the hall and the darkness of the room, it took her a moment to realize it was Duke who was pinning her to the wall.

"Duke! What are you doing? What if someone saw that?" she accused, reaching up to smack him on the bicep, the very same bicep that had started this whole mess in the first place.

He quickly leaned down to kiss her not being able to resist having her alone and in a darkened space, "Who cares? Besides the way you practically ran out of class there was no one around."

He leaned down to give her another kiss before she could respond, but she pulled away, causing him to miss and kiss her jaw line. He didn't seem to think this was a problem as he trailed kisses along it.

"How do you know that? Besides…besi…mmmm…"

But whatever she was going to say died on her lips and was lost because Duke's mouth had attached itself to her earlobe. She let him continue for a few moments, as he slowly worked his way down her neck and to her throat, before she regained the ability to speak and choked out, "Can't…Gotta stop…hunh."

She finally gained up enough strength to push him away. "We have to stop. This is serious. We have a major problem."

"I'd say we do. How could you get detention TWO days before the Cornwall game?" he replied, seeming to find the dormant anger that caused him to drag her in here in the first place. That is, before he got distracted.

"I'm sorry. But it doesn't matter. I'm not going. I don't even go to this school. I'll let my brother deal with it when he gets back. Trust me, he has plenty of practice."

He gave her a slight smile, seeing the humor in her words, but said, "You have to go. You can't play against Cornwall if you skip."

"I can't play if I don't practice either. Oh God, this is so messed up," her head falling into her hands, tears threatening to fall.

Duke took her into his arms, whispering nonsense words as a means of comfort. "It'll be okay. Why don't you go talk to Gold, see if he'll move your detention. He wants to win as much as anybody, besides he seems to have a thing for you."

"Um…thanks for that image. But you're right. There's got to be something he can do and even if there's not, it's worth a try."

"Good," and with that problem solved he leaned down to start kissing her again, but her words stopped him cold.

"That still doesn't solve our other problem though. Olivia wants to ask you out."

He looked at her as if she had just told him he had won the lottery and his dog had died all at the same time. "What? That's what you two were talking about?"

"Yeah. She said I was right, that you were cute and she wanted to ask you out."

"And what did you tell her?"

"That I heard you were seeing someone. She didn't seem to believe me. Apparently, that would be the biggest news of the century," she couldn't help but smirk as she said this knowing full well Duke's abilities with girls who weren't dressed up like their brothers.

"Oh God, this is bad. And that's not funny," he said not missing her suggestion as he pointed a finger at her in an accusing way.

She swatted his finger away and said, "Yes, it is, but that still doesn't solve our problem."

He thought about it for a moment before finally telling her that he would just have to avoid her until he could prove he really was dating someone.

"And how are you going to do that exactly?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"By hiding in janitor's closets with my girlfriend, of course," he answered with the most suggestive smile he could muster.

"Oh, really? And what if she doesn't agree to that treatment?"

"I'll just have to kidnap her I suppose. I hear it's easy."

She went to smack him again but he caught her hand before giving her a wicked grin and then proceeded, as per previous instructions, to 'kiss the crap out of her,' all attempts to solve their problems forgotten.

Eventually they made it out of the closet, with enough time for Viola to go speak to Principal Gold about her problem. He eventually agreed to let her make it up after practice so she could preserve her spot on the roster for the Cornwall game. She told Duke later that she thought he was actually outraged that someone would jeopardize Illyria's chances, but he had to put up the front that he was behind his teaching staff and their disciplinary actions. She found the whole thing quite amusing and struggled to keep a straight face the entire time she was in his office.

Practice was typical for two days before a big game, grueling. Tomorrow would be a light practice to reserve their energy, just some light running and going over the major plays. They barely spoke as they dragged themselves off the field and into the locker room. Still in her soccer gear, Viola headed off to her detention with Principal Gold.

It was a standard detention. Principal Gold took the opportunity to talk and talk and talk, but Viola heard none of it as she dozed off somewhere between the topics of his mother and what he had for breakfast six months ago. The lack of his voice in her head woke her out of her stupor and told her that it was time to go back to the room, curl up with Duke and take a nice long nap.

Fate had other ideas because when she got back to the room she found the boys all there. Andrew and Toby in their reserved spots in front of the Playstation and Duke at his desk, doing something on his laptop.

"Hey," she greeted them, rather dejectedly as she had to put up with her front as a boy for that much longer.

The boys in the corner barely grunted in recognition of someone speaking to them, while Duke looked at her with a look that clearly said he felt the same way about the situation as she did. Nonetheless, he gave her a warm smile, his eyes lighting up at her presence. She tried to return the gesture, but her smile lost most of its sentiment by her rejection of the scene that had greeted her.

She took stock of the situation and realized she couldn't engage in conversation with Duke without the risk of something regarding their relationship being mentioned. And no matter how engaged Andrew and Toby were in their game, she still didn't trust that they wouldn't overhear anything. She decided an early start on homework was the best course of action. She got out her books and sat on the bed, schoolwork spread around her and got down to business.

The room was silent except for Duke's typing and the noises coming from the video game. The silence reigned for close to half an hour before the game finally ended with some horrific death sequence that left Andrew victorious and Toby protesting that he had cheated by making suggestive comments about Eunice in leather to distract him.

"Dude, you know the rules, girls are off limits during the sudden death round," Toby was arguing.

"Hey, it's not my fault you have a leather fetish. Or could that be a Eunice fetish?" Andrew suggested elbowing him with a slight rise of the eyebrow and a smirk.

Toby gave him a look that clearly said 'shut up or I'll break your face' and answered him with a, "I think you have that wrong. You're the one with the thing for leather."

Andrew opened his mouth to protest the accusation, but Toby continued talking. "And don't deny it. I've seen the magazines."

At this point Viola had had enough and she took her pen and threw it at Duke. When it hit him in the back of the head, he finally turned to look at her and when he noticed the disgusted look she had on her face, he decided it was time to intervene.

"Guys, guys…why don't you take the game into your room and settle this there so that we don't have to hear about it? Okay?"

They looked at him as if he were slightly mad, as he usually enjoyed the stupid fights they got into over video games and girls. But the look on his face was serious, even for Duke and they agreed.

As they left the room, they were already throwing insults at each other and only the door closing drowned them out.

"Ugh…I can't take much more of this," she said as soon as the door slammed shut and she proceeded to flop back on the bed.

Duke got up out of his chair and walked over to her, extending a hand to pull her up.

"Come on."

"What? Why?" as he pulled her toward the door.

"You'll see, just come on."

He pulled her into the hall and closed the door behind them. There was no one around, but he dropped her hand as soon as he was sure she was following.

He managed to dodge her questions and constant interrogation the whole way to the garage where his bike was parked. He climbed on the bike and handed her a helmet.

"You've got to be kidding."

"No," he laughed, "Why would I be kidding? Come on. Just get on. It'll be fun, I promise."

She gave in and climbed behind him, as he gave her a cocky grin and pulled the helmet over his head.

"Hold on tight," he said as he started up the motor.

She obliged and gave a little scream as they took off.

They rode the deserted streets for close to half an hour before they reached their destination, which turned out to be Viola's house.

"What are we doing here?"

"Clothes. I refuse to have you dressed as a boy on our first date."

"Date?" she asked skeptically though with a slight glimmer of hope.

"Yeah. That's ok, right?" he replied, losing some of his confidence.

"Yeah. Actually, it's perfect."

"Good," he said with a bright smile, "Now get in there and put on something girly."

"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes, "But what if my mother's home?"

"She's not. It's Thursday. Junior League meeting."

"Right. I might be awhile. Do you wanna come in?"

"Sure."

They went up the front walk and entered the house through the front door. Viola immediately headed for the stairs, while Duke stopped in the foyer, unsure if he should follow her or not.

She noticed he hadn't continued to follow her and she stopped on the stairs to turn around and look at him.

"Coming?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

She didn't exactly answer him with words so much, as with a mischievous smile. He could do nothing except sigh, thinking that it really was NOT a good idea at all, and followed her up the stairs.

She had started to pull off her wig and facial hair as they walked up the stairs and continued on to her room. He stopped again once she had opened the door to her room and walked inside.

She saw that he had stopped again and was now shifting from one foot to the other, obviously very unsure of himself.

"What is the matter with you?" she said with a small laugh and pulled him into the room.

"Nothing. I don't know. Sorry."

She gave him a reassuring hug and a kiss before grabbing her towel and heading for the bathroom.

"Where are you going?"

"Shower. I smell like something a cat threw up."

He made a disgusted face at her reference and said, "Well I wasn't going to say anything, but…"

"Oh, shut up," she said hitting him with the towel and then leaning in for a kiss.

He stepped away from her though. "Uh-uh, not until you're clean and especially not after you abused me with that towel."

"You're impossible," she laughed as she walked out the door.

"Wait!" he called out, "What'm I supposed to do?"

He received no answer, however.

"Great," he muttered and took stock of his surroundings

Soccer posters on the walls, Beckham, Donovan, Ronaldo, Hamm, everyone you'd expect. The room had an air of girlyness without being too overpowering. He suspected that her mother had a hand in the choice of the color scheme, as he wouldn't pin Viola as a purple type of girl.

He noticed a board above her desk that held a bunch of pictures and went over to examine them. There was a bunch of Viola and two girls he recognized as the ones who had come into Cesario's the other night and another guy who looked vaguely familiar. There were all kinds of pictures of Viola playing soccer, either action shots or candid team photos. He moved on to another that showed Viola with her arm slung around another boy. He realized it must be the real Sebastian, as the two of them did look scary alike. Then again, they were twins. The image, however, was too creepy considering the situation and he moved on.

He was sorry he did though when he realized whom the next batch of photos were of. Viola and Justin. God, he hated that guy. Just seeing the two of them together in the pictures was enough to make his blood boil and his stomach turn all at the same time. He didn't quite know what to make of the feeling and he didn't really want to admit that it scared him a little.

He was saved from further contemplation on the issue as Viola had just reentered the room. She saw what he was looking at and she immediately felt guilty.

"Oh, um…Sorry about those. I haven't really had a chance to purge the room of all things prick."

He turned around and the sight that greeted him caused his blood to boil for a completely different reason.

"It's…er…um…fine. Yeah," he stuttered, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

She gave him an amused grin at his obvious discomfort of her standing there in only a towel. She went over to him and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"You're blushing."

"Oh, um…am I?" she had by this point started to plant soft kisses on his jaw line, her for-once girly smell overwhelming his nostrils and drowning his thoughts.

"Uh-huh. I didn't want to say anything before, but it's kinda sexy. Makes me wonder where else I can make you blush."

That was the comment that did him in. He couldn't stand her saying things like that anymore, it was driving him slightly mad, and he claimed her lips in somewhat of a bruising kiss.

She had been goading him for a reaction, but this was slightly more than she was expecting. Duke was quickly becoming the most confusing and complex guy she had ever met. One moment he was a scared, nervous boy and the next he was this confident and slightly dangerous…_man_. That thought alone was enough to send tremors through her body, or it could have been the way his hands were slowly making their way over every inch of her towel-clad body, claiming their territory.

The way her body was beginning to ache and arch was a clear indicator in her vaguely working mind, that things could quickly get out of hand here if she didn't slow them down and put some clothes on. She separated herself from Duke, as difficult as that was becoming, and pushed him towards the door.

"As much as I love watching _you_ get dressed, I don't think you've earned the same privilege," she said with the same devilish grin from before.

It had all happened so fast he didn't even realize what had happened until the door was being closed in his face, though he was thankful for the reprieve. He stood there staring at the door, willing himself to calm down from what had just happened. He didn't know what it was about Viola that did this to him, but it was starting to become quite the problem. One minute he could barely get out a complete sentence and the next he barely had control of himself. Their situation was going to get very hard to deal with if they didn't get a handle on the dangerous territory they were quickly entering. His first instinct was right, coming upstairs was _definitely_ not a good idea.

Duke was completely lost in these thoughts and didn't realize until it was almost too late that Viola was asking him something through the door.

"How'd you know where I lived anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, I have my ways," he answered her, his voice taking on that devious tone he was so fond of.

"Oh, really," she said, opening the door slightly, "And what might those be?"

Any witty answer he could have come up with was lost in his throat, when he got a partial view of her bra-clad breast and the jeans that hugged her toned thighs like second skin.

"Phone book and Mapquest," he answered slightly breathless, all thoughts of continuing their banter completely lost.

She chuckled slightly and closed the door again, emerging five minutes later, completely clothed and ready to go.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. You look great by the way," he answered and leaned over to give her a quick kiss before reaching for her hand.

"Thanks," she said giving him a smile and his hand a squeeze.

"So, where are we off to?" she asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Somewhere," he answered vaguely and they continued outside and took off once again.

Somewhere ended up to be the movie theater. They bought their tickets, popcorn and various other snacks and headed into the theater. They chose seats towards the back so they could throw popcorn at the other couples. Just as the theater darkened a bit, signaling that the previews were about to begin, Viola noticed something and visibly stiffened. Duke turned to look in the direction Viola was staring a hole through and there it was. He couldn't believe it. Justin. And his posse, if you wanted to call it that.

Viola was shaking, whether from anger or fear of being discovered he wasn't sure and he really didn't want to find out.

"Vi. Vi. Vi! Would you look at me?" but she wasn't answering so he gently turned her face towards him. Her expression softened a bit with the reminder that Duke was there. He took her in his arms and gave her a soft kiss, letting her know that Justin wasn't getting to him. "Don't worry. It's dark. He won't see us," he whispered against her lips.

She nodded and gave him a small smile and another kiss. Justin and his 'crew' sat towards the front of the theater, not even glancing in the couple's general direction. They couldn't really see him from where they sat, but they could hear the group perfectly. Talking shit about various people and generally not being very nice.

"Tell me again why you ever dated him."

Viola shrugged, but replied, "I don't know really. I think everyone expected it. Both captains of our teams, soccer was all either of us talked about. We were both decently attractive. It just kind of happened. Who knew the one thing that brought us together, would be the thing that tore us apart. Plus he was terrible in bed."

"Um…What!?"

"Oh, sorry. Guess I was on a bit of a roll there," she said slightly abashed, blushing slightly. She risked a glance at him, but his face was unreadable, "You're not gonna get all weird on me now because I slept with him, are you?"

He took a moment to process what he had just heard. He shouldn't be surprised really. Everyone has a past, no matter how they might seem on the outside. He shook his head more to get rid of these thoughts, than as an answer to her question, but answered, "No, you're not the only one with a past, you know. Besides it's none of my business what you did with Justin. I only care about what you do with me."

"You're amazing, you know that?" she asked him in a bewildered tone. She couldn't believe some of the things that came out of his mouth. "I think you deserve a kiss for that one."

She leaned over to give him a kiss. When she pulled away, a thought dawned on her and in a lightly nervous and unsure voice she asked him, "As long as we're sharing here, what did you mean that I wasn't the only one with a past?"

"I don't really like to talk about this, but I guess you have a right to know. Last year, after we won the division, we went to this huge blowout. I got completely wasted, don't have any idea what I was thinking, and there was this girl and I guess alcohol cures me of my problem and well yeah. I think you can guess what happened."

Duke had told her he wanted a relationship to be about more than just the physical and she could tell from his tone that he regretted what happened. It didn't matter to her either way if he had slept with someone else or not. Who said they would even get to that point?

But Viola knew that at the rate they were going, it was a clear possibility they would be faced with that issue sooner rather than later. But tonight was not about that and as she leaned more into Duke, his arm around her shoulders and her head firmly placed on his shoulder, she enjoyed the fact that at the moment they were a normal couple, not having to deal with anything else but watching the movie.

An hour and half later, the movie was over and the lights came back on. They got themselves together and hand in hand walked down the steps towards the exit, where they consequently met up with the last person they wanted to deal with. Justin. During the course of their heart to heart and the movie they had forgotten he was even there.

They all stood there, blocking the exit, just staring at each other. It was Justin who finally broke the silence. "Viola! What are you doing here with _him_?"

It was obvious by his clenched fists and white knuckles that Justin was fighting a very strong urge to launch himself at Duke, clearly not over the way things had ended at the carnival.

"Why do you care Justin? I dumped you. Remember? It's none of your business what I do," Viola answered, slightly outraged, as she attempted to pull Duke through the crowd.

Justin didn't seem to think this was such a good idea and apparently neither did Duke because he wasn't budging.

"Viola, you can't be serious! You don't even know this guy. You met him at a kissing booth, for Christ's sake!"

"She obviously doesn't want to be with you, Drayton. Do I have to pound it through that thick skull of yours?"

This was apparently not the right thing to say to him, however, as all his anger had reached its limit and he reached back and punched Duke in the face. The fight that ensued was much like the one less than a week before. It lasted less than five minutes and resulted in a split lip, bloody nose and a not so pretty gash above the eyebrow for Justin. Duke came out of it rather unscathed considering, with a bloody nose and a small cut in a similar place to Justin's large gash.

Viola pulled Duke off the floor and out of the theater. The night air was cool, but it seemed to make them more aware of what had just happened and they wordlessly got out of there as quick as possible. They made it back to Illyria and reached their room with no further incident. It was getting late and there usually weren't many people around at this hour. As soon as they were inside, Viola pushed Duke back on the bed and went to the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

She had him sit up at the end of the bed with his head tilted up towards her so she could get a good look at the cut on his forehead. She cleaned the dried blood off his face and then she grabbing some antibiotic cream and a band-aid for the cut. They hadn't said anything to each other since they left the theater and the silence almost deafening. Viola stood above him, holding his head in her hands as she searched his eyes. He had grabbed her waist to steady himself, the blood loss, lack of food and shock of the cold water on his face making him slightly woozy. They continued to stare at each other for moments on end, before Viola finally bent down to give his bandaged head a light kiss. She went on to give his lips similar treatment and after a moment, Duke surprised her by deepening the kiss.

Viola slid her hands down to reach inside his jacket, pushing it off him. Once free of the offending garment, she pushed him back against the bed, following him and never losing contact with his wonderful mouth. Her hands had found their way up the front of his t-shirt, slowly pushing it up and up. His arms were in the way, however, as they were following a similar pattern with her shirt. They were interrupted though. Not by anyone at the door or a phone ringing, but as Duke's stomach gave a loud and protesting growl.

They stopped mid-kiss and Viola let out a very unattractive snort against Duke's lips. He pulled away and at least had the modesty to look sheepish. Viola only continued to giggle uncontrollably and Duke soon followed when her stomach gave out a similar noise. Their stomachs continued to protest, reminding them both it'd been hours since they'd last eaten.

"I think I'll order a pizza. What d'you think?" his voice still containing his laughter.

Viola still didn't have a handle on herself, the lack of food was making her slightly crazy apparently, and only nodded her head enthusiastically.

An hour later they were fed and watered and ready for bed. The run-in and fight with Justin were still present in their minds, but they'd silently decided it would be discussed at a later date. The physical and emotional traumas of the day were beginning to take their toll and exhaustion was evident in both of their faces. They crawled into bed, said their goodnights and snuggled down together for a well-deserved night of rest.

**A/N2: So surprise! I had to cut this into multiple parts because it was just getting too long and I didn't want it to be months before I finished it all. So, there's going to be one more part after this, maybe two, I'm not sure yet. Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome and flames give me a good laugh so feel free to do that too. **


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